The Lonely Orbit
2019 · 9m · Switzerland
Directed by Frederic Siegel, Benjamin Morard
Genres: dark comedy, drama, sci-fi
Tones: contemplative, darkly comic, melancholic
A satellite technician starting his dream job keeps loneliness at bay by constantly texting old friends, until neglected duties send a satellite out of orbit and the world's communication network collapses.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
It's a solid premise—lonely guy breaks the internet—but the execution plays it too straight, too sympathetic; a truly subversive version would let us hate him for it, or make the collapse funny in a way that doesn't resolve into melancholy.
The tonal balance between dark comedy and genuine pathos shows formal restraint, and the nine-minute structure respects the conceit without over-explaining; it sits comfortably in that lineage of sci-fi shorts that use constraint to sharpen thematic clarity.
The decision to let the texting—that constant, nervous notification rhythm—become the film's sonic and editorial pulse is what makes this work; it's a small choice that transforms a familiar isolation story into something tactile and specific.